Josh Donaldson impresses in A’s intrasquad game

–Josh Donaldson was the talk of the A’s intrasquad game, hitting a deep three-run homer and making two nice plays at third base as he makes his bid to win the starting job at that position. The home run was a blast off right-hander Jim Miller that ricocheted off the scoreboard in right-center at Phoenix Muni — impressive opposite field power. Donaldson’s day began with an error — he let a grounder off the bat of Wes Timmons get by him to his left. But he redeemed himself. He made a backhanded stop of Chris Carter’s bouncer down the line and made the throw across the diamond to get Carter. A bit later, Donaldson made a leaping stab of Landon Powell’s liner for the out. “You like to be able to see guys get tested like that, and recover and not go the other way,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.

–Catcher Derek Norris also homered off Miller. On the pitching side, Sonny Gray — the A’s 2011 first-round pick — looked good in one scoreless inning. He said his curve ball — his putaway pitch — has yet to come around but he was happy with his changeup, which he’s trying to develop as a reliable third pitch.